Left Turn
by Insanetrouble
Summary: Joan turned left instead of right when coming out of that jewellers, and Henry was crueller than anybody realised. Which prompts the start of a whole new adventure.
1. Chapter 1

Joan hurried out of the jewellers, veering to the left as she glanced behind her for Henry's man. She strode down the pavements, not seeing the brunette behind her who stopped dead as she caught sight of Joan coming out of the jewellers, turning back the other way even as Joan hurried away in the opposite direction. Heart thumping, Joan made it back to her car and climbed in, driving off as quickly as she could with the stolen information safely in her bag.

She drove home, only relaxing once she'd crossed state lines. Arthur was in the kitchen when she rushed in, throwing her coat over the hook before hurrying into the office they shared and quickly plugging in the USB into her laptop.

"Joan?" Arthur called confusedly.

"Hi." She answered distractedly, scanning the information flashing across the screen. She frowned. There was no way she was going to be able to track Henry's money without the help of a forensic accountant, but that would mean involving another innocent person in this mess. She jumped violently as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Jesus Arthur!" she gasped, placing a hand over her baby bump as she felt him kick in surprise.

"Sorry- I didn't mean to scare you. I called you three times. " he sat next to her, watching her warily.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you. Did you need something?" she questioned. He looked at her worriedly.

"Joan, are you alright? Did something happen?" he asked gently. She raised her eyebrows at his change in manner.

"I'm fine Arthur. Does… this mean you're not going to shout at me again?" she enquired tentatively. He shook his head.

"Joan, I'm not going to pretend that sanctioning the torture of my son is something that I can forget. But I know that my reaction is the reason you've been gone all day, and I was wrong to not just sit and talk with you rather than flipping out. You are my wife… And you're carrying our child." He leant forward, clasping her hands in his and resting his forehead on hers as he whispered: "I will always fight for you too."

Joan smiled in relief, leaning into him. Their peaceful moment was interrupted, however, when a loud banging on their front door demanded their attention. "Bet you a fiver it's Auggie." Arthur challenged. Joan smiled.

"Calder." She guessed with a laugh as Arthur opened the door. Then cried out as he was flung back to the floor. Several masked men entered, guns waving as they approached. Joan turned and bolted back into the study, her only thought on protecting the life growing inside her as she reached for her own gun. She fired as the first man came through the door, hitting him in the head and causing him to drop instantly allowing her to fire again and again, hitting the two men behind him.

"Stop or we kill your husband!" a voice yelled. Joan froze. Thinking quickly, she grabbed her phone from the desk and typed in the emergency sequence she'd had when she was DCS. Calder at least should recognise it, she thought as she hit it out and laid down her gun.

"Don't hurt him!" she called, playing up the fragile pregnant blonde for the second time that day. "I'm coming out!"

She edged out of the door, and immediately a cloth was clamped over her face. She instinctively gasped, reaching for it and struggling to escape the hold she'd been bought into even as the world faded to black.

* * *

Joan opened her eyes, blinking as she tried to adjust to the light, however meagre it was. She realised she was tied to a chair, her ankles bound to the wooden legs and her wrists to the wooden arms. It wasn't exactly comfortable at eight months pregnant. She looked around for Arthur, quickly spotting him beside her. He was in a similar position, although his arms were bound behind his back and he was still unconscious, head dropped onto his chest.

"Arthur!" she hissed. "Arthur, wake up!"

"Oh, don't bother Joanie. He got a higher dose than you- he won't be waking up for a while." Joan whipped her head back around towards the voice, eyes widening as she recognised the man who emerged from the shadows.

"Henry?"

He smiled coldly, walking closer. "It was a nice try this morning. The pregnant blonde act in the jewellers? A little too memorable. You're getting out of practice Joanie. Been out of the field too long."

"I got the intel didn't I? I already handed it over." Joan raised her chin defiantly. He smirked.

"Too whom? Auggie Anderson? The blind, grieving tech who's already under investigation?"

Joan stared at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

He raised his hand as if to slap her, but she didn't flinch and he slowly lowered it. "It's such a shame Joanie. You had so much potential. Such a _waste_."

He turned, walking to Arthur. "What are you doing?" Joan questioned worriedly, watching him intently. Without warning he backhanded Arthur across the face.

Arthur groaned, opening his eyes. "Oh God." He complained when he saw Henry in front of him.

"Nice to see you too, Arthur." He straightened, coming to stand between them. "Now one of you is going to tell me who exactly is working against me. The one who doesn't is the one who survives."

Arthur and Joan exchanged a glance, saw the same thoughts reflected in the others' eyes. "Go to hell, Henry." Arthur spat. Arthur motioned behind him, prompting the appearance of two men. Both fully dressed in black, including balaclavas the only difference that Joan could see between them was that one was slightly taller. He could be Tweedledum, she decided, while the other could Tweedledee. Dum and Dee for short. She suppressed a giggle, wondering if this was an effect of the sedative they'd given her or simply hysteria. Dum walked forward slowly. Joan swallowed nervously, shifting in her seat while Arthur remained motionless, expressionless as he watched the advancing man.

Dum lashed out, punching Arthur again and again in the stomach until he was gasping for breath. Joan screamed. The punches continued to rain down, so fast Joan almost couldn't see them. "Henry! Henry stop!" she called desperately. Henry held up a hand and the beating mercifully came to a halt.

"Tell me what I want to know, Joanie. You and Arthur can both go home, raise your baby. Never have to worry about me again." Henry coaxed almost soothingly.

"You bastard." Joan whispered, unable to tear her eyes from where Arthur was coughing and gasping.

"I'll take that as a no." He motioned again and the punches rained down harder than before, this time with Dee helping as well. Face, arms, abdomen, none of it was avoided and soon the chair had fallen to its' side, Arthur still secured to it as feet joined the mens' fists in inflicting damage.

Joan soon lost track of how much time had past. All she could see was Arthur and the pain he was in. "I'm sorry." She whispered as tears tracked down her cheeks. Henry laughed.

"Tell me Joan, and you could save him." He murmured into her ear. She spat in his face.

"You're sick Henry." She told him viciously. She strained her arms, but the zip ties wouldn't budge and she was held fast.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." Henry shrugged. He watched impassively as the beating continued for another few minutes, before he finally bought it a stop. He motioned to one of the men (Dum? Joan thought, but she couldn't really remember which one was which...) and he vanished outside, presumably to deal with the bleeding fist Joan could see he had. The other man righted Arthur so that he was sitting up again.

"I'm impressed. I thought for sure that you would have broken by now." Henry walked around them, a gun in his hand, roughly shoving a gag in Arthur's mouth. "This next question is for you Joanie. You wouldn't talk to save your husband- would you to save your unborn son?"

And he pointed the gun at her stomach.


	2. Chapter 2

Joan stared at him in horror. "Henry..." She whispered. He smirked.

"Tick tock, Joanie." He mocked. Joan felt her breathing speed up, heart rate rocketing.

"Henry please." She whispered. He opened his mouth, but then his phone rang. He turned away to answer it, and Joan breathed a sigh of relief at the brief respite. She looked over to Arthur, who was sagging in his chair, blood trickling from his mouth.

"Well well, Joanie, your boy has a stay if execution. I have some urgent business to deal with- you'll have to wait. I'll be back soon." He exited, followed by Dee and behind them the lights dimmed even further.

"Arthur. Arthur!" Joan pulled at the ties, trying to shift closer to her husband. He stirred, looking up at her through a black eye.

"Don't worry about me." He whispered. "I've been through worse."

"But our baby Arthur. He'll kill him, you know he will." Joan held back a sob.

"Just hold on. Somebody will come." He murmured, breathing raspy.

"Who, Arthur? Who is coming?!" Joan demanded. "Annie is dead. You're a traitor and with the best will in the world Auggie is blind. He can't help us. Calder is working for Henry so the text I sent will be no help! Who else is there, Arthur? Nobody is coming. We're alone."

She gasped out a sob, eyes tearing up but she refused to give Henry the pleasure of destroying her composure so completely and so pushed her emotions down. Arthur stayed silent after her outburst.

Irritation ran through her but she ignored it, concentrating on trying to do something useful. So instead Joan listened for any noise from outside their prison, anything that might signal help of a way out, but instead all she heard was a faint whine of water pipes and an overwhelming silence. Time ticked on.

And on.

Joan opened her eyes, realising that at some point she must have fallen asleep. Beside her, Arthur sat with his head on his chest, grotesquely covered in his own dried blood. Joan felt her heart skip a beat. If the blood had dried, then they must have been in here for hours.

"Arthur...?" She questioned after a watching him sleep for a while. He didn't move. "Arthur!"

She felt her heart speed up as there was no response from her husband. "Arthur, wake up! This isn't funny!" She pleaded. "Arthur!" She screamed at him.

"Joan...?" He mumbled questioningly, raising his head with difficulty to look at her. She sobbed.

"Don't do that again. Please don't do that again." She whispered, breathing uneven and ragged. She shuddered at the thought of losing her husband. "Please don't leave me."

* * *

Calder Michaels stood in his favourite Chinese take-away five minutes away from his flat and frowned in confusion at the text he'd just received from Joan. A series of non-sensical words that presumably meant something to her, but absolutely nothing to him. He continued to stare at his screen as he collected his order and walked outside, running through codes and encryptions in his head as he went while deftly dodging other pedestrians.

Until one barged into him. "Hey-!" He started, but trailed off when he saw who it was. "What the hell are you still doing here?!" He demanded, grabbing her arm and taking her into a nearby alley.

"Joan and Arthur are in trouble." Annie said simply. He frowned.

"What is it this time?"

"Henry abducted them from their home. Several days ago, I think." Annie explained shortly.

"Shit." Hissed Calder, glancing out of the alley at the surrounding people. "Wait- you know this how?"

Annie hesitated. "I was going to see them." She admitted. "I found their empty house instead."

"How any times Walker- ghosts are invisible! As in no one sees them!" He exclaimed. Fire blazed in her eyes.

"I know that! But Joan was at the jewellers in New York, and she took the information I wanted before I could! I figured it was easier to pool resources!" She snapped. "Now instead of critiquing me, could we please work out how we're going to help them!"

Calder groaned, running a hand over his head. "Dammit. I'll contact the DCI, explain what's happened."

"You can't! We can't prove that Henry is behind this, and all it'll do is tip him off that there's another player He doesn't know about!" Annie protested.

"Well what do you suggest Walker? Because you're a hell of an agent but even you can't stage a siege alone." Calder raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not suggesting I do. Let me find out where Henry is holding them, then organise a tach. team. You arrest Henry, save Joan and Arthur and all without letting anyone know I'm alive." Annie suggested, crossing her arms. Calder looked indecisive. "Give me a day. If I haven't found them by then, you can go to the DCI." Annie coaxed.

"You have until nine tomorrow morning." Calder said firmly. Annie nodded.

"Fine." She agreed. She swung her rucksack over her shoulder and melted into the crowds, blending in. Calder watched her for a second, before turning and staring at the bag of Chinese in his hand. He cursed, and dropped it into the nearest bin.

* * *

Joan wiggled in her chair, muscles protesting at not having moved in so long. She was hungry and thirsty, and judging by the increase in kicks so was her baby.

"How long have we been here?" Asked Arthur roughly. Joan shrugged the best she could.

"Days." She guessed. "Nobody's come back for us."

"Maybe they forgot about us."

Joan frowned at him. "That's not funny Arthur."

"Sorry."

They remained in silence for a few minutes. "So I had an idea." Arthur began, hoping to distract them both. Joan smiled slightly, fully aware of his intentions.

"Oh?"

"What do you think of Anthony?"

She blinked. "Who's Anthony?"

"For the baby, Joan." Arthur explained. Understanding crossed her face.

"Why?" She questioned. He shrugged.

"Seemed like a nice name."

"Arthur, we should pick a name that means something to us, not just because we happened to see it in the name book." Joan told him exasperatedly.

"Ok. What names do you like?" He challenged. She hesitated.

"James?" She suggested. He shook his head.

"The name of one of my former aides." He vetoed. They continued like this for another few hours, bouncing names back and forth until they'd exhausted their ideas and fell into thoughtful silence.

"We could always call him Auggie." Arthur joked dryly. Joan rolled her eyes.

"We're not naming our son August, Arthur. No offence intended to Auggie."

"I think he might take rather a lot if he were here." A voice came from behind them. Joan and Arthur both stiffened as Henry walked around them.

"Damn. I was hoping we'd got rid of you." Scowled Arthur. Henry smirked.

"I'm through playing games." He told them. "I want to know who is working against me within Langley. I want to know who, and I want to know why. And I want to know now."

Joan swallowed thickly, shifting back as far as the harsh wood of the chair would let her as Arthur leaned forward. "What's wrong Henry?" He mocked. "Unable to do your own investigating now?"

Henry swung around, back handing him once again.

"I never liked your mouth, Arthur." He said with an upturn of his lip. He motioned to the shadows for a man to come forward and gag him. Joan recognised him as Dee... Or maybe Dum. She wasn't sure. "I'm asking your lovely wife."

He turned to Joan, who was torn between protecting Auggie and protecting her baby. "I don't know." She told him honestly. He lashed out, slapping her around the face. She gasped in shock, looking up at him as her cheek stung.

"Liar." He said calmly. She shook her head.

"I don't know! Henry, stop this, please!"

"Stop what, exactly?" he asked her lowly. "I have nothing left to lose Joanie. And everything to gain. Why on earth would I stop now?"

She stared at him with wide eyes. He breathed heavily, nostrils flaring. "Henry…" she began softly, but he cut her off.

"Enough! Tell me, right now." He gestured to Dee, who passed him a gun before returning to his post by Arthur.

"I don't know!" Joan cried. He shoved the gun under her jaw.

"Tell me!" he roared. She flinched back.

"I don't know!"

He backed away pointing the gun at her stomach. "You know the rules Joanie. Tell me, right now, or I _will_ pull this trigger."

Joan shook her head and heard the deafening bang of the gun.


	3. Chapter 3

Joan shrieked in shock as the bullet grazed her arm, leaving a stinging path in its wake.

"That was just a warning shot Joanie." Henry narrowed his eyes.

"Henry, please." She pleaded, pressing back as far as she could. "Henry- he's innocent!"

Henry simply smirked, rolling up his sleeves. He never took his eyes from Joan, who stared back at him with wide, frightened eyes. Beside her, Arthur pulled at the zip-ties as hard as he could, muffled yells coming through the gag in his mouth.

"Tell me what I want to know."

"There isn't anyone!" Joan told him desperately. Henry raised an eyebrow.

"I don't believe you."

"I'm telling the truth! There's only the three of us that you already know about! Everyone else is dead!" Joan struggled with the bonds, fear for her son permeating every inch of her.

"Yes, I know about Jessica Mathews. I already dealt with her." Henry looked bored.

"Jessica who?" questioned Joan confusedly. "I was talking about Annie."

"And Helen, yes?" Henry challenged. Joan fell silent. "That's what I thought."

Henry swung the gun towards her. "Not enough I'm afraid. Say goodbye now. It's more than I had with _my_ son."

"Henry…!" Joan felt herself tremble even as Arthur moaned through the gag, rocking his chair in attempt to get free until Dee clamped down a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

"Sorry Joanie." Henry raised the gun with a satisfied smile, aiming it straight at her swollen stomach.

"Henry please!" screamed Joan. She arched, twisted and tried to throw herself to the side. Anything to get away. But it was no use- the bonds were too tight just as they were for Arthur beside her. She saw Henry's finger tighten on the trigger. She cried out, her eyes flying closed even as tears tracked down her cheeks. _I'm so sorry, baby boy._

She flinched as the shot rang out.

But instead of the radiating pain she was expecting, there was a thud and a grunt. Joan opened her eyes with a sharp breath to see Henry on the floor with a figure dressed all in black on top of him, while Henry's bodyguard lay on the floor, blood pouring from a wound on his stomach. Joan gasped in relief, stopping in her struggles as she watched Henry and her saviour wrestle on the floor. They rolled, grappling for control of the gun and swinging awkwardly at each other, until Henry managed to grab the mask and yank at it with all his might.

"Annie…?" whispered Joan, stunned as it was revealed exactly who was in front of her. The younger woman flashed her a smile as she finally seized the gun, taking advantage of Henry's distraction at the discovery of her identity by throwing herself backwards on her knees so that she knelt over him and could point the gun straight at his head.

"Don't think I won't." she warned coldly. He froze.

"Well well. Hello, Ms Walker." He murmured. Without warning his leg shot out and swept Annie's from under her. Joan winced as the brunette's head hit the floor with a resounding crack. Annie lay stunned as Henry wrapped his hands around her throat, straddling her as he throttled her.

"Not such a great idea, Ms Walker." he hissed at her as she struggled, before he called over his shoulder "How about it Joanie? Your little prodigy can't even stage a successful rescue. What are they teaching you at the farm nowadays? I'd have thought you would have known better than to come alone, Ms Walker."

At this Annie stopped struggling, looking up at him with her hands wrapped around his wrists. "Who… said… I was… alone…?" she gasped out. Before he'd at time to process this she brought her leg up and dislodged him just enough to scream out "TEO!"

Joan and Arthur both stiffened, exchanging a bewildered glance as Henry squeezed her throat once again, causing her to writhe and gasp soundlessly as she desperately tried to take in air. Arthur's face was a mask of pain as Joan yelled "Annie!" while pulling once more at the ties around her wrists. But it was needless as another figure burst through the door, smashing into Henry and dislodging him just as Annie's eyes fluttered closed.

Joan froze, stunned, as she recognised the brunette curls she'd met only once. "What..?" she breathed. Teo rolled with Wilcox until he loomed over him.

"You!" Henry wheezed angrily. Teo smirked.

"Yeah. Me." he drew back his arm, slugging Henry in the face over and over again, until he lay still and unmoving.

Breathing heavily, Teo launched himself off of the man and ran over to Annie. "Annie!" he checked her pulse, pausing as he concentrated.

And sighed in relief as he felt it thudding beneath his fingers. Quickly he moved to Joan, cutting the zip ties from her wrists with another knife. "Can you do the rest?" he asked softly. Joan nodded silently, taking the knife in a daze and quickly setting herself free before doing to the same to Arthur, who immediately pulled her into a tight hug regardless of his injuries while Teo dropped back next to the brunette lying on the floor.

"Come on, _chica_. Don't be stubborn." He muttered, tapping her face gently to bring her round. Joan pulled away from Arthur, stepping hesitantly closer.

"Is she alright?" she asked softly. Teo glanced at her.

"Not sure." Just then, Annie moaned softly, turning her head as she opened her eyes.

"Annie? You with us?" Joan placed a hand on her wrist, mentally counting her pulse.

"Ow. Yeah. Wilcox?" she coughed, directing the question to Teo.

"He's over… _merde!_" He cursed. None of them had noticed as the man took off. "He's gone." Annie looked at him worriedly.

"We need to get out of here. He'll have called in reinforcements."

Just then, the door flew open and several tactical officers rushed in, led by Calder. Annie raised a scathing eyebrow. "A little late to the party Calder." Teo went to help her sit up but she waved him off and climbed to her feet, hunched over as she sucked in air.

"Yeah- sorry about that." Calder motioned for the officers to take custody of the other man who was lying on the floor, walking closer to Annie as they did so. "Where's Wilcox?"

"Gone. He ran off when we weren't watching." She explained, wheezing slightly.

"Shit." Calder cursed, running hand over his head. "You need to disappear. Go underground and don't come out."

"I need to destroy Henry, take down his network."

"Somebody else can do it, Walker. You can go; stay safe until this is over." Calder said gently. Annie smiled sadly.

"But they can't do it as well as a ghost can." She pointed out softly.

"Make that two ghosts." Teo interjected. She grinned at him, reaching back to briefly squeeze his hand. Calder raised an eyebrow.

"The terrorist wants to help take down a terrorist network. Great." He said sarcastically.

"He's not a terrorist!" Annie and Arthur said in unison. They glanced at each other in surprise. Annie motioned to Calder for them to move away, allowing the other two men some privacy. Joan followed them, a hand placed protectively over her stomach.

"How are you alive Annie? Eric told me what happened. There's no way you survived but you're standing in front of me…" She murmured. Annie smiled brightly.

"Long story short? I faked my death."

Joan looked at her dryly. "Yes I'd gotten that, thank you."

Annie giggled, than looked startled. "Huh. I don't remember the last time I laughed." She murmured. Surprise and sadness flashed across her face. Impulsively, Joan stepped forward and bought her into a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're ok." She whispered. Annie stiffened, but tentatively bought her own arms up to wrap around the older woman, relaxing into the embrace. Behind them, Teo and Arthur were pulling apart from each other too, while Calder simply looked uncomfortable.

"How the hell did you two pull this off?" asked Arthur as they came closer to the two girls. Annie shrugged.

"It's a long story." She told them evasively at the same time as Teo said:

"We had help." They glared at each other silently, while the other three simply glanced from one to the other.

"Teo…" Annie said in a warning tone. He frowned.

"No."

"He's-"

"I know!"

"Then-"

"No!"

"But-"

"It does not-"

"Of course it does!"

"Not now."

"But-"

"Not _now._"

"Oh. Because…"

"Yes."

They stared at each other. "Ok." Annie finally conceded with a small nod. Joan, Arthur and Calder gaped at them.

"What the…?" Calder muttered. Teo and Annie both turned to them all with smiles.

"So what happens now?" Annie asked Calder. He blinked, looking from her to Teo.

"Wilcox is officially a fugitive. He'll have every law enforcment officer in the country searching for him, but he won't go down without a fight." He told them. Annie nodded in agreement.

"We'll have to get him before he gets us. But we have a few days grace." She thought aloud.

"How do you figure?" Calder queried.

"He just lost a good portion of his men. He'll need to regroup, get funds together. He can't do that while chasing after us." She explained. Suddenly one of the tactical officers burst through the door.

"Sir. Three unknown vehicles approaching, hostiles confirmed." He informed Calder calmly.

"Wanna revise that theory Walker? Defensive positions." He told them officer before he turned to Annie, who was already checking the ammo left in her gun. He grabbed her arm, pulling her aside. "You've got to get Joan and Arthur out of here."

"What?!" she hissed.

"They're Henry's men! And there's a hit out on the Campbells! They'll kill them if they catch them this time!" he whispered frantically.

"What exactly do you suggest I do with them?! Arthur is barely able to stand upright and is technically a fugitive because he broke the house arrest and Joan is eight months pregnant! I can't just bring them along with me!"

Calder raised a pointed eyebrow. Annie's eyes widened with realisation, and she violently shook her head. "Oh, no way."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and alerted! What do you think of this one? X**_

Annie bit her lip nervously as Teo drove with Joan and Arthur safely secured in the back seat, both of them having patched the other up when they first set off. Annie glanced behind them, narrowing her eyes as she saw a dust trial following them and getting closer by the minute. "Come on Teo, my grandmother drives faster than this!" Annie jibed, worried about the approaching car. He flashed her a smirk and stamped on the accelerator, causing Annie to have to grab into the handle to keep her balance.

"Mature Teo." She grouched, checking behind them. "Dammit, what the hell have they got under the bonnet?" She withdrew her gun and quickly loaded a magazine, sitting on the door to lean hazardly out of the window.

"Annie!" Joan exclaimed in alarm just as the brunette fired off three shots in quick succession, then another two. Suddenly, Teo made a sharp left turn and Annie lost her grip on the handle she was holding on to. It was only Arthur lurching forward and wrapping his arms around her legs that stopped her from falling from the car. He winced as the action aggravated his injuries while she slid back in, looking entirely unconcerned.

"Thanks." She told Arthur, peering out the back window. "I know I hit the front tires, so that should slow them down at least."

"Just stay inside the car from now on." Pleaded Joan, trying to calm her thumping heart. "I don't think my nerves can take it."

"Sorry." Annie shot her an apologetic look, turning back to buckle herself into the seat properly.

"Hold on everyone." Teo said as he made a series of rapid turns that had them all clinging to various parts of the car in order to stay seated.

"Is that all you've got?" Annie teased the Columbian. He raised his eyebrows.

"You asked for it." He accelerated even faster, bringing Annie to laughter as they sped around corners and through the lanes. Arthur and Joan exchanged a glance as they were thrown around the car.

"It was a really bad idea to let these two meet." Muttered Arthur. Joan looked nauseous.

"I've never seen her act like this." She mumbled, trying not to open her mouth too much.

"Not much we can do about it now." he muttered. She nodded in agreement, wincing as they were thrown to the side at another corner. Arthur decided to try to rein the younger couple. "Teo? I understand the need for speed, but there's a pregnant lady back here."

"Oh, sorry." Teo apologised, stamping on the brake and throwing them all forwards.

"Teo!" protested Annie with an amused smirk. "I don't think that's quite what he meant!"

He shrugged innocently, grinning at her. And as night fell, they travelled further and further until Arthur was sure they were no longer even in the same state. "Where are we actually going?" he asked. Joan had fallen asleep on him a little while back and Teo had calmed his driving down as soon as they'd hit busier roads.

"A safehouse. Henry's men won't be able to find us there and it'll give us time to figure out what we're going to do next." Annie answered tiredly. She'd curled up in her seat, staring absently out of the window until Arthur had broken the silence that had fallen.

"We need to swap cars before the next state line." Teo reminded her. She nodded, yawning.

"Wake me up then." She mumbled as her eyes closed and she joined Joan in the land of sleep. Teo and Arthur remained in silence, and until he suddenly spoke Teo assumed he'd nodded off too.

"What happened?" Arthur questioned. "The doctor told me you were dead. That you hadn't survived the bullet wound."

Teo sighed. "I… don't remember much."

"What do you remember?" insisted Arthur.

"Being in the car with Annie… and then you were there. I think we spoke, and then there were lots of different faces. After that… I don't remember much until I woke up with Annie sitting next to me."

"Annie?" questioned Arthur, now more confused than before.

"Shush. Sleeping." Annie interrupted them with a frown, eyes not opening. They fell into silence until they drew up in the outskirts of a badly lit car park a couple of hours later, and Teo leant over to shake Annie awake.

"Hey _chica_, wake up. We need a new car." She groaned, swiping his hand away before levering herself upright.

"Why is it my turn again?" she muttered. "I'll be back in a minute." She slipped from the car, sweeping her hair into a ponytail as she did so. Teo leaned his head back and closed his eyes, dozing off until Annie rapped sharply on the window and jolted him awake. He bolted upright, eyes wide.

"Funny." He frowned as Annie giggled at his reaction. In the backseat Joan stirred awake, frowning as she looked around.

"Where are we?" she questioned, disorientated.

"Some car park. Annie went to get a new car." Arthur answered.

"She's stealing it?" she exclaimed disapprovingly.

"Borrowing it. Long term." Teo corrected as he climbed out and opened his father's door. "Everyone out. We need to get going." He helped Joan from the car after Arthur, and Annie led them to a 4x4 a few rows over that was already running.

"Stealing cars Annie? Really?" Joan raised an eyebrow as they walked. Annie shrugged.

"I've done far worse things in the last few months, Joan." The grieving tone accompanying her flippant words silenced anymore comments from Joan or Arthur, and they hopped in the car and drove away in silence.

* * *

They pulled up at a quaint wooden house buried deep in a forest a few hours later. Annie had taken over the driving to let Teo get some rest and the only other person awake was once again Arthur. "This is it?" he asked softly. She nodded, shaking Teo awake.

"Not many people know that it's out here, and it's well protected. It should be safe for a while." She explained. While Teo went to kick start the generator, she showed Arthur and Joan inside. There was a fairly large living room with a wood burning fire, a kitchen-diner and small cloakroom that doubled as a wash room along with three upstairs bedrooms and two bathrooms. Annie pointed the couple in the direction of the largest one. "Teo and I just took the single ones, so there are clean sheets and stuff as well as spare clothes in the drawers if you can find the right sizes. Oh, and more medical supplies in the cupboard in the bathroom if you need them."

"Thank you Annie." Joan smiled. Annie smiled back, turning to walk away when Joan called out to her. "I really am glad you're ok, you know. And so is Arthur, although he won't admit it aloud."

Annie let out a small laugh at that. "Thank you Joan." She said sincerely. Just then, the lights overhead flickered on. "Teo must have got the generator working. Finally." She said the last bit just loud enough for the man to hear. He swore at her in Spanish, prompting laughter before they both vanished into their rooms. Joan shook her head at them, entering her and Arthur's room and sitting on the bed while she waited for him to appear from the bathroom.

"Are you ok?" he asked, laying his clothes on a chair. She looked at him.

"We're sharing a house with two dead people. That isn't slightly disconcerting for you?" she raised an eyebrow.

"They're not actually dead." He pointed out, settling beside her.

"The point remains." She lay back, absently stroking over her stomach as she felt the baby shift within her. He reached out, drawing her into his arms.

"Just enjoy it honey." He murmured as he began to fall asleep. "Annie and Teo are alive, and safe. For tonight, don't worry about everything that's gonna come."

But Joan's mind raced and every time managed to quiet it and doze off the baby decided to kick particularly hard or disrupt her in some other way. Finally, she slid out from under Arthur's arm and out onto the small veranda at the back of the house, wrapped in a blanket and watching contently as the sun rose higher in the sky.

"Hey." Joan looked around to see Annie, dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and leggings that she guessed the younger woman had slept in.

"Good morning." She greeted, accepting the steaming mug Annie held out to her. "Thank you."

"Couldn't' sleep?" asked Annie as she settled under another blanket, careful not to spill her own drink.

"I think I have a gymnast in the making." Joan said ruefully, placing a hand on her bump. Annie chuckled.

"Danielle swore that Chloe was going to be a football player. I think Michael was very disappointed that she can't stand it. Says it's too muddy for her." She grinned wistfully at the memory of her nieces and sister. She and Joan fell into a comfortable silence for a while, but finally Joan couldn't stand not knowing any longer.

"Annie? Why?" she asked simply, knowing she'd understand.

"It was the only way!" Annie defended, stiffening.

"Annie, I'm not judging." Joan said gently. "I just want to understand."

Annie bit her lip, sighing. "Sorry." She relaxed slightly, curling her legs under her before speaking. "Henry set me up for murder. I was already considered rogue thanks to his stunt in Copenhagen. You were in hospital, Arthur was in jail, Teo was dead and Auggie was under suspicion. So I took the only way out I could and went after Henry solo."

Annie stared out across the trees as she spoke. "And Calder helped?" Joan questioned sceptically. Annie smiled, amused.

"Yeah. With a little persuasion. Eyal helped too- I'm not sure I want to know how he got there so quickly after I called him though."

"And what about you and Teo?" Joan smirked. Annie looked confused, tilting her head slightly.

"Me and Teo what?"

"Are you two…?" Joan trailed off, raising her eyebrows pointedly.

"No!" exclaimed Annie, sitting up in shock. "God no!"

"I was just asking!" Joan laughed. "The two of you seem very close."

Annie was giggling uncontrollably. "Yes, but not like that! When I told him what I was doing with Wilcox he wanted to help. It made more sense to work together than to go it alone. Besides I love Aug-"

She clapped her hand over her mouth, but Joan had already filled in the blank. "You love Auggie?"

Annie went crimson, ducking her head which sent Joan into fresh peals of laughter. "Talented CIA operative who's worked on dozen of undercover operations but mention your love life and you come apart."

"By my _boss_! The mention by my _boss_!" emphasised Annie through her own laughter.

"Not anymore I'm not. So spill."

"For the record, I think I'll always see you as my boss whether you actually are or not. And… it's complicated!" Annie protested through laughter. Joan groaned.

"It's always complicated with you. What's the problem?"

"The problem is he slept with his not-so-ex-wife two days ago." Joan choked on the sip of tea she'd just taken.

"What?! What the hell possessed him to do that?"

Annie shrugged. "He's a man." She suggested dryly. Joan winced.

"That prompted a few more images than I wanted." She grimaced. Annie choked again, which prompted another laugh from Joan. "Anyone would think you didn't see me as human, Annie." She pointed out, amused at the younger operative. Annie shrugged, trying to contain herself.

"You're Joan Campbell! You scare foreign diplomats into submission on a daily basis- you're not supposed to joke about mine and Auggie's relationship!"

"So you have one then?" Joan grinned triumphantly. Annie groaned, covering her face.

"I take it back! You're definitely still Joan Campbell." They both laughed, until Teo suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"You two sound like schoolgirls giggling over your crushes." He commented, which of course, set them off even worse. He blinked, alarmed.

"Dad? I think your wife is broken." He called over his shoulder. Arthur appeared behind him.

"Quite possibly." He agreed. "So what's the plan for today?"

Annie shifted so that Teo could sit next to her while Arthur lent against the arm of Joan's chair. "There's a guy I know who may know where Henry's headed. The trick is going to be persuading him to tell me."

"Need a hand?" Offered Teo. Annie shook her head.

"Thanks, but the last thing I need his for him to bolt. Better I go alone."

"Very well. Then I will go to see if Wilcox is making waves in the underground circles." Teo inclined his head.

"And what exactly are Joan and I supposed to do?" Arthur inquired. Annie shrugged.

"Heal. Think of baby names. Stay out of trouble." She suggested. The Campbells scowled.

"Annie…"Joan began.

"Do you have any contacts left who will talk with you?" Teo interrupted. They both nodded. "Then why don't you see if any of them know anything about Henry?" he suggested. They exchanged a glance.

"Okay." Joan agreed. But she wasn't holding her breath.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Hi everyone- sorry for the wait. I should explain that I have my AS Levels in a few weeks (AS's are the first part of my A-Levels, which are the exams I take when I'm 18) so I'm juggling revision, coursework and university searches! Please bear with me!_**

**_Tell me what you think of this one? X_**

By the time Joan and Arthur went to bed that night, Annie still hadn't returned to their little house. Teo, however, had come back down heartened when he'd been unable to find anyone willing to talk about Henry Wilcox, or his plans and current whereabouts.

Arthur stiffened and jolted awake when he heard a noise from somewhere in the house at three o'clock the next morning. He glanced at Joan, who was- for once- sleeping peacefully next to him before he silently sliding his gun from the drawer next to the bed and crept from the bedroom, walking noiselessly through the house towards the source of the sound. There was another soft thud, and a whispered curse from the kitchen.

"Annie?" Arthur questioned, slipping his gun into his waistband and flicking on the night. She jumped, not turning around.

"Arthur! You scared me. Did I wake you?" she asked, using her body to conceal whatever was on the counter in front of her.

"Sorry. It's fine. Are you alright?" he questioned, walking closer. She nodded.

"Fine! Go back to bed." Her tone was a little too high pitched, and he frowned as he came to stand directly behind her, trying to peer over her shoulder.

"Annie why won't you look at me?" he pushed. She gave a half-shrug.

"I'm fine Arthur, really. Go back to bed." She encouraged.

"Walker!" he said in a warning tone. She sighed, and slowly turned around, tucking her brunette hair behind her ear to allow the light to illuminate her face. Arthur winced in sympathy. Bruises covered her face- a split lip was pouring blood all over her shirt and her left eye was beginning to swell. She was going to have a heck of a black eye in a few hours. "What the hell happened to you?" he exclaimed. She moved carefully and dipped the cloth she was holding under the warm water of the tap.

"My informant doesn't like me very much. Luckily he likes Henry even less, so I got the information amyway." She explained, dabbing at her lip as she tried to mop up the blood. Arthur moved forward and took the cloth from her, wiping at the lip with practised ease.

"You got ice for that eye?" he asked. She shook her head, but he grabbed her chin to keep her still. "So what did your guy say?"

"Henry's prepping to leave the country. He only needs to get on the plane." Annie scowled. Arthur dipped the cloth again.

"To go where?"

"Hong Kong. We can't let him get there- how the hell we'd get him outta there I have no idea." She sighed, wincing as he dabbed at her lip again.

"Then we call in the cavalry. Someone in our little circle must have an idea- god knows we have enough brain between us." Arthur commented. He pulled back and dropped the bloody cloth into the washing. "Don't move."

"How can we keep him here though? It's not like we can stand in front of the plane." Annie pushed herself up to sit on the side with some difficulty, swinging her legs slightly as she thought. Arthur saw her hold onto her ribs with a grimace, and frowned.

"Did you try asking Michaels?" He passed her a bag of peas, before diving into the first aid kit.

"Thanks. Not yet- I figured he'd be more agreeable when it wasn't the middle of the night." She grinned, but winced and straightened her expression when pain lanced through her lip. She pressed the bag to her face, flinching at the ice.

"True." Arthur reappeared with the rib support held in his hands. "You alright with me putting this on you, or do you want to wait for Joan?"

"No- I trust you." She shifted forward and pulled up her top, exposing her purple and black ribs.

"Jesus… are these all from today?!" Arthur exclaimed. Annie shook her head.

"Some are from the crash." She explained, hissing in pain as he pulled the support around her torso, securing it quickly.

"Sorry." He apologised. She shook her head, sliding carefully from the counter.

"It's fine. Thank you Arthur." He nodded at her, quickly disposing of the materials.

"Get some rest, Walker." He turned to walk back to his and Joan's bedroom while Annie went to go into hers, but he called out before she could shut the door. "Annie?!"

"Mm?" she shot him an inquiring look.

"Thank you." He said sincerely. She tilted her head.

"For what?"

"For Teo. And for everything you've done." He told her. She smiled and nodded once before vanishing into her room.

The next morning Annie woke late and made her way downstairs to where she could hear the voices of her housemates, wincing as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her eye had blackened and swollen, as had her lip.

She stepped into the living room, ducking her head to bring her hair forward to hide her face. "Morning." She murmured, hurrying past Joan and Teo on the sofa and into the kitchen where Arthur was washing up.

"You look like hell." He greeted.

"Good morning to you too."

"We saved you some food. It's keeping warm in the oven." He gestured with a soapy glove. She withdrew it quickly nodding her thanks as she shovelled some bacon in her mouth, realising as she did that she hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday and wincing as it hit her sore lip.

"Hey, _chica_, did you get the information you wanted?" Teo appeared before Annie could turn around, and a look of thunder crossed his face as he saw her. "What the hell happened!?" he cried. He grabbed her chin, lifting it harshly as he studied the damage. She pulled away, waving him off.

"It's nothing."

"That doesn't look like nothing!" he yelled. The raised voices bought Joan in.

"What's going o- Annie!" she gasped. Annie sighed.

"I'm fine! Arthur patched me up- it looks worse than it is. Honestly!" she grabbed the plate of food and escaped outside, sitting cross-legged as she munched, not daring to peek back in until she was sure Joan and Teo had been placated.

"We don't bite you know." Joan said dryly. Annie smiled hesitantly.

"Just checking." She placed her plate down and hurried upstairs, leaving Joan and Teo to exchange a confused glance.

"She doesn't want you to worry." Arthur explained, sitting next to Joan and pulling her into his arms. She smiled slightly sadly.

"Of course she doesn't."

* * *

Joan frowned as she heard a car pull up outside. Beside her, Arthur and Teo both stiffened as well, the later reaching over to the side for his gun. Before he could stand, however, Annie came racing downstairs.

"Don't panic! It's just Calder!" She called. Teo sighed as Joan and Arthur both relaxed.

"Really, Annie?" He asked. She shrugged, unlocking the door.

"We need resources. Unless you have another way of getting to Henry?" She shot him a questioning look, smirking when he scowled and crossed his arms.

"I don't like him." He grouched.

"And he doesn't like you either, so stop moaning." She stepped outside, shielding her eyes against the bright light of the sun.

"Hey Walker. Nice place you got here." Calder called out as he slammed he door shut.

"Thanks." She greeted him with a smile. Which slipped slightly she saw the second man exit the car. "Hey Auggie."

"Hi Annie." He replied softly. She swallowed, locking her jaw as she gestured to Calder for them to come in. He grabbed Auggie's arm and led him up the steps. Arthur and Joan voiced their greetings to the both of them, while Teo simply glared and greeted only Auggie. Joan's eyes locked on Annie's and she raised an eyebrow. Annie shrugged, blushing slightly.

"So what have you got?" Calder asked, leading Auggie to a seat before sitting down himself.

"Henry planning on flying out to Hong Kong as soon as he can. He's moving his entire operation out there- his money has already gone and the DC office has become just a branch for his ops." Annie explained, crossing her legs underneath her.

"Chasing Henry to Hong Kong is possible." Teo mused. "But he'll be expecting it."

"And it's not really feasible." Arthur pointed out thoughtfully. Joan frowned.

"And chasing him all around another continent isn't really the best idea. He has far better resources." She pointed out.

"She has a point." Auggie agreed. Annie sighed, pulling her hair from its ponytail and running her hands through it as she crossed her legs.

"This is insane. We're hiding in a cabin in the woods while Henry is free to leave the country at any time he wants." She scowled.

"Hey, we're gonna get him." Auggie said, turning in her direction. Annie's face darkened.

"Don't patronise me, Auggie!" she snapped. "I've been doing this for months- Henry's operation is huge, and we don't even have Teo and I as a surprise anymore!"

"Okay, guys?" Arthur attempted to calm them. "Let's concentrate on what we can do and what we actually know- how is Henry moving his money?"

"Diamonds." Answered Annie, sagging back against the chair.

"Oh my god, I completely forgot- Henry's courier was in Hong Kong a few days ago." Joan remembered. The other looked at her quizzically, and she quickly explained. "I stole information from the jewellers he was moving his diamonds through. The courier was there at the same time. They had a meeting."

"That's why you legged it out of there." Annie realised. Joan looked at here with a raised eyebrow. Annie swallowed and the glare, and hurried to explain. "My informant directed me to there- if you'd turned left when you came out you'd have run into me."

"Well, thanks for lending a hand." Joan said dryly. Annie look offended.

"I did! I purposefully ran into the bald guy as he was coming out- held him up long enough for you to disappear." She said, affronted. Joan looked apologetic.

"Thanks."

"Alright, back to the point." Calder interrupted. "How are we going to get Henry?"

"Shoot him." Teo voted. Annie thwacked him without looking, propping her chin on her other hand.

"Could he be convicted if we stopped him from leaving?" She asked. Calder nodded.

"If you and Teo agreed to testify, coupled with Joan's evidence then yes." Annie glanced at Teo, and they unanimously nodded their agreement.

"So we just need to keep in the US." Arthur played absently with a lock of Joan's hair.

"We could go for brute force." Teo suggested. "Knock him out and drug him."

"Oh good, so once we've been cleared of treason we can be arrested for kidnapping." Annie said cheerfully. They all smiled faintly.

"What other choice do we have?" pointed out Teo.

"If we got the charges bought before he leaves then the Chinese government won't grant him asylum." Auggie suggested. "He'd have nowhere to go."

"Can we get the charges bought that quickly?" questioned Joan. Calder considered.

"Maybe if we all pulled in every favour we have."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Auggie, grinning broadly. They all rolled their eyes, but reached over and grabbed their phones anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

Late into the night the phone calls had tailed off and Joan had fallen asleep against Arthur, who had carried her to bed after a whispered goodnight to them all. It had been that prompting that had caused the rest of them to stumble off to bed as well, hoping that their phone calls had helped somewhat. But they'd done all they could- now it was a waiting game.

Annie, however, stared out across the trees as the moon shone bright overhead, mind whirring. The house behind her was in darkness- Auggie was bunking with Teo in his room on the pull out bed while Calder was on the sofa in the living room. She sighed heavily, leaning her head against the back of the chair.

It was so strange, she reflected, to be surrounded by so many people who trusted her. Before she'd discovered Teo was alive she'd been so alone, and now she was sharing a house with people she considered friends of sorts. Bizarre as it was, it wasn't entirely unpleasant.

"Hey." Auggie was standing in the doorway, head tilted slightly. She frowned that she hadn't heard him approach- she was doing that a lot lately.

"Hi. Why are you up?" She shifted uncomfortably as he made his way forward, hand finding a seat before he plopped down.

"Couldn't sleep. It's too quiet. You?" He asked.

"Haven't been to bed yet." She said shortly. He frowned.

"You need to rest, Annie." He chided gently. She shrugged, eyes fixed on the tree line.

"I've spent months watching my back, or Teo's. It's hard to break the habit."

There was a silence. "Come on." Auggie held out his hand to her. She frowned in confusion, hesitantly reaching out to clasp it.

"Where are we going?"

"Midnight snack." He hauled her up and tugged her into the kitchen, carefully manoeuvring around the furniture until he'd reached the freezer. "Okay, you're going to have to give me a hand here. Is there ice cream?"

Annie stared at him. "Yeah..." She reached in and grabbed it. "Vanilla."

"It'll do. Toffee sauce?"

"Why would we have toffee sauce?" She questioned blankly.

"Why would you have ice cream?" He countered with a grin. She blinked.

"Um... There's chocolate sauce?" She suggested, peeking into the cupboard. He nodded.

"Excellent. And I think these are sprinkles." He shook the small packet he was holding. Annie giggled.

"They're sunflower seeds. These..." She reached past him and plucked them off the shelf. "Are sprinkles."

"There's always something." Auggie sighed. "Oh well. Better than the time I put pepper instead sugar in my cake because I got the pots confused."

Annie burst into laughter, muffling it quickly with her hand. Auggie grinned broadly at her, reaching out to brush the back of his hand against hers. Working together, they quickly built the sundae, adding chocolate buttons that Annie found in the fridge before digging into together.

"Ooh, brain freeze." Auggie shook his head, scrunching up his nose. Annie watched him with a small smile, swirling a button around her mouth. He paused, turning his head. "You're staring at me."

"How could you possibly know that?" She grinned, rolling her eyes. He winked.

"Did I never tell you I'm psychic?" He leant forwards, whispering loudly. "It's a secret though. You can't tell anyone."

Annie laughed, leaning forward as well. "Oh, no way! I'll tell the world!"

Auggie feigned hurt, placing his hand to his chest. "I thought we were friends. See if I trust you again."

Annie's smile faded. Silently she swallowed the mouthful though it now tasted of nothing and placed the spoon on the side. Auggie winced as he realised what he'd said. "Annie, I didn't mean-"

"I know." Annie nodded, ducking her head and moving to stand. He reached out to catch her wrist.

"I didn't mean it like that, Annie. I trust you more than anyone." He said seriously, fingers curled around her pulse. She cupped his face briefly.

"I know." She murmured. She slid from his grasp, dumping her spoon in the sink. "I'm going to bed."

"Annie..." He called, but she'd already gone. Auggie sighed, dropping his head into his hands and running his hands aggressively through his hair. Angrily, he grabbed the bowl and shoved it into the sink, but it missed and hit the edge, shattering and slicing his hand.

"Shi..." He hissed. He groped for a towel, but couldn't find one. He groaned, hitting the side with his other hand as he stayed still, knowing there were probably shards he could cut his feet on if he stepped on them. He bent his head, cursing mentally. "Annie. Annie!" He called softly, hoping she hadn't fallen asleep yet. He heard footsteps approaching and looked up hopefully. "Annie? Ah... Could you give me a hand?"

"I'll be glad to, but I'm not Annie." Joan answered, frowning as she saw the state of his hand. Auggie blinked, then realised that the footsteps had been too heavy for Annie.

"Oh, hey Joan. Thanks." He stayed still as she carefully wrapped his hand, before moving to the sink and quickly clearing up the shards behind him. "What are you doing up?"

"I'm pregnant, Auggie. Sleep doesn't come easy." She fell silent as she worked, before glancing at his expression. "Do I want to know?" She asked conversationally. He shook his head.

"I messed up with Annie. I forgot how fragile she is- made an ill timed joke." He scowled at himself, leaning against the side. Joan crossed to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, it's not your fault. Henry… he's done a lot of damage." She touched her lip gently, shuddering as she remembered the gun pointed at her stomach. "It's going to take time to heal."

Auggie slowly nodded. "I don't want to lose her, Joan." He confessed in a whisper. Joan sighed, quickly bandaging his hand with the kit the seemed to be living in the kitchen at the moment.

"Maybe you shouldn't have slept with your ex-wife then." She pointed out as she wound the bandage, fighting to keep the disapproving tone from her voice. He winced.

"You know about that?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I know about that. All done." She scooped up the rubbish and plopped it in the bin, rubbing a hand soothingly over her stomach as she felt the baby kick out.

"Let me have it then." Auggie ducked his head. Joan sighed.

"I'm not here to judge you Auggie. With all due to respect to you and Annie, we have bigger problems than your love life. That said, if it starts affecting the two of you working then we're going to have problems." she told him. He nodded.

"I don't know how to fix it." He admitted. Joan sighed.

"Did you apologise yet? Explain?" she asked. The look on Auggie's face told her everything. She rolled her eyes. "Start at that and work from there." She ordered, not unkindly. She pushed off from where she was leaning, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm going back to bed- you should too."

He nodded. "Thanks Joan."

* * *

Annie's eyes flew open at the sound of an engine outside. She knew they weren't expecting anyone else- the only people who knew about the house were already there and it was the middle of the night. She grabbed her gun from the bedside table and shot out of bed, meeting Teo in the hall. They nodded at each other, needing no words to know what the other was thinking. In sync they crept down the stairs to see Calder already standing in a defensive position, hovering near the front door.

Annie ducked down and peered out the window, quickly spotting the idling car and scowling. "We can't get out the front."

"Please tell me you have a plan!" hissed Calder.

"Of course we have a plan!" Annie snapped. She darted to the bottom of the stairs, hollering at the top of her voice. "Auggie! Arthur! Joan! Get dressed- we have to go!"

She quickly checked her gun, reloading it within seconds. "Three and three or three two's?" she asked Teo.

"Three and three. I'll take Land Rover- you take Calder's car." He answered, glancing up as Auggie appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What's going on?" he asked, making his way down as quickly as he dared.

"We have company." Teo answered, pushing him towards Calder who frowned but placed his hand around the crook of his arm. "How do you want to divvy them up?"

"We have to do the unexpected." Annie bit her lip as she pulled out two large bags from a cupboard, chucking one at Teo. "I'll take Arthur and Calder, you take Joan and Auggie."

"No." they both looked up to see Arthur at the top of the stairs, supporting Joan with his relatively uninjured arm. "I'm not leaving Joan."

"And that's exactly why you have to." Annie told him calmly. Joan frowned.

"What do you mean Annie?"

"Henry won't be expecting you two to separate. Not all of his men will know who you are or what you look like, so Henry will tell them to be on the lookout for a couple one of whom is pregnant. They won't be looking for three men or you and Calder together." Annie explained shortly, shoving items into the already heavy bag. "Henry will be expecting Teo and Arthur to stay together as well- therefore, Arthur comes with me and you go with Teo."

"And what if Henry figures out what we're doing?" Arthur demanded, tightening his grip on Joan.

"We're on the run, with little resources and no plan. The last thing Henry expects us to be doing is thinking clearly."

"But..." Joan started, but Teo interrupted.

"This isn't about you two. It's about your baby, and the best way to protect him is to separate." He said firmly, grabbing the keys. "The rover is out the back, so hopefully the men will run around there when we start it up and they hear the engine."

He seized Auggie's arm and turned him in the direction of the door before catching his step-mothers arm and leading her in the same direction. "I'll look after her, I promise." He said over his shoulder, directed towards Arthur. He nodded reluctantly, fists clenched. Joan shot him an encouraging smile, blowing a kiss before catching Auggie's elbow and leading him out, a gun in her hand. Teo grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder, nodding to his father and winking at Annie. She smiled weakly, grabbing her own bag.

"Calder, can you lock up behind them?" she asked, hunkering down as she peered through a cap in the blinds. As predicted, once the car started up the two men out the front ran around to the back. "Let's go!"

She hustled the two men out the door, bolting to the vehicle and shoving it into drive. "Why are _you_ driving _my_ car?" Calder asked as she sped away, the wheels spinning beneath her.

"Really? You wanna discuss this now?" she raised an eyebrow, swerving sharply. He tilted his head in acceptance, gripping the handle tightly as they raced through the trees. The forest flew past them in a blur, so much so that Annie didn't dare take her eyes from the road. "Are we being followed?"

Calder and Arthur both turned to gaze out the back window, silence falling for a few seconds. "I don't think so." Arthur said slowly. Calder made a noise of agreement. Annie relaxed slightly, easing off the accelerator and leaning back into her seat more.

"Where are we going?" Calder questioned. Annie gave a lopsided grin.

"You really think we had only one safehouse? We're headed to another one."

"Just how long have you been planning this?" he asked, surprised.

"A few months. Although I was expecting it to be just me and Teo." She answered. They rode in silence for a while, until Annie suddenly pulled over to the side of the road. They were on a small bridge above a river, and both men both shifted uneasily.

"Walker?"

"Give me your phones." She ordered, holding out her hand. They men exchanged a glance.

"Why?"

"Because Henry tracked us somehow. Give them to me." she said impatiently. Arthur slowly withdrew his and she snatched it from him, grabbing Calder's as well and jumping out the car, crushing them before throwing them into water running underneath them.

"That was out last connection to the others!" snapped Arthur, getting out the car. Annie looked at him coldly.

"I value our lives more, Arthur." She walked back to the car, and Arthur felt a shiver run down his spine at the dead look in her eyes. And as he climbed in behind her he wondered when exactly the young, bright young woman whom he'd first met had become this cold warrior.


	7. Chapter 7

Annie drew up the next day at the safe house. This one was a small house in the suburbs, although Arthur had no idea where. But the lawns were neatly mowed and all the bushes and trees trimmed while birds chirped and fluttered about in the late afternoon light. It was ironically normal, Arthur thought, scowling.

"Doesn't look like the others are here yet." Calder commented, glancing around. Annie made a small noise of agreement, hauling her bag from the car and letting them into the whitewash house. She immediately dug into the bag, drawing out two small packages, glancing at the labels on them briefly before she threw one at Arthur.

"Use that." She instructed. Arthur frowned, opening it and peering inside.

"No way." He rejected, shaking his head and backing away.

"You don't have a choice." Annie told him, hiding an amused smirk. He shook his head.

"Nuh uh. Not happening Walker." He said firmly. She raised an eyebrow.

"I can always get Calder to help me force you." She crossed her arms, silently challenging him. Calder glanced between them nervously as they glared at each other, raising his eyebrows when Arthur glowered and snatched up the box, stalking off to the bathroom. Annie smiled with satisfaction, reaching into the bag and pulling out a bag. "And this one's yours."

Calder caught it uncertainly, eyes widening as he looked inside. Annie picked up her own box, smirking as she ran upstairs.

She appeared back in the kitchen over an hour later, hair trailing down her back. Seeing no sign of Calder or Arthur she dug through the cupboards to find something edible, failing miserably. Hearing footsteps behind her, she looked up to see Calder entering.

"Hi." She raised an eyebrow, daring him silently to say a word. He smiled.

"Hey Walker. Anything to eat in this place?" he asked. Annie grimaced.

"Well, there's tinned beans." She held them up. "Or tinned spaghetti hoops." She held up the other tin. There was a pause, before they both burst into laughter.

"Hell. This is crazy." Calder shook his head, leaning against the side. Annie smiled.

"You're telling me." she put down the tins, shaking her head at the absurdity of the situation.

"If we get caught by Henry before he's arrested, it ain't gonna be pretty." He said. Annie laughed slightly bitterly.

"Welcome to my world."

There were footsteps on the stairs, and they both looked up. Arthur scowled as he stomped down, glaring daggers at the two of them. Annie immediately clamped one hand to her mouth to keep from giggling while the other braced against the side, but Calder had no such qualms about showing his emotions, bursting into laughter at the sight of the older man.

His usual salt and pepper had had been dyed a chestnut colour and cropped shorter than he usually wore it, while the contacts Annie had supplied had changed his blue eyes to deep brown ones. But what Calder was really laughing at was the tan Arthur was now sporting thanks to the fake tan he'd had to apply. Arthur's scowl deepened. "I hate you both."

Annie leant against the counter, her entire body shaking. Arthur stared at her. "How come yours look utterly natural?" he complained. Annie smirked, brushing away a lock of now auburn hair that stretched almost to her hips.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Arthur." She glanced newly green eyes at Calder. "You need to put yours on."

He scowled. "Walker…" he began pleadingly, but Annie simply pinned him with a stare. He groaned, reaching over to the table and grabbing a wig, shoving it on unhappily. Arthur snorted in laughter. Calder now sported dreadlocks just past his shoulders, secured with brightly coloured beads.

"Well, I very much doubt _you're_ going to be recognised." Annie smirked. Calder slumped into a seat, exchanging a morose look with Arthur.

* * *

Not long after the two men had gone to bed later that night after a quick trip to the nearest supermarket to buy food, Annie snuck back out the house and walked to a nearby electronic shop, buying the cheapest laptop she could and hotfooting it back to the house before either of them had realised she'd gone. Once there, she booted it up and set up an internet search for any new mention of Henry Wilcox, bouncing off a neighbours' signal to gain access. She shifted, curling up as she stared at the screen and waited for the news she and the others were so desperately hoping for.

It was early morning when she wakened suddenly, having fallen asleep on the sofa with the computer on her lap. She froze, trying to work out why she'd woken. "You awake Walker?" Calder's voice came through the doorway softly. Annie sat up all the way, blinking the sleep out of her eyes even as her body screamed at her to lie down again.

"I am now." She muttered, glaring at him. She hadn't slept for more than a couple of hours every night in over a week now. He came in, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the laptop and sat beside her, hesitating. She looked at him tiredly. "What Calder?"

"The others should be here by now." He stated. She met his gaze calmly.

"Should they?"

"You know they should." He studied her expression, but it told him nothing. "They're not coming, are they?"

Annie looked at him emotionlessly. Her silence told him all he needed to know. He sucked in a breath, running a hand over his ducked head before looking back to her. "Where are they?"

She shrugged, sighing slightly. "I have no idea. That was always the plan- If we were found Teo and I would separate completely, cut off all contact until we knew it was safe. We set up separate safe houses and didn't tell the other anything about them. They could theoretically be just down the street and I would have no idea, at least until we both deem it safe to contact the other."

"And then? You just said you have no way to contact him!" Calder demanded. She didn't flinch.

"We set up protocols."

"Jesus Walker! Joan is over eight months pregnant- she could go into labour at any time!" he hissed. Now Annie winced slightly.

"I know. But their lives are more important than Arthur missing his sons' birth."

"They'll hate you when they find out." Calder said quietly. Annie shrugged sadly.

"They can join the club."

* * *

As Calder predicted, Arthur flew into a wild rage when he discovered exactly what Annie had done. He yelled and screamed at her, furious that she'd cut him off completely from the entirety of his family, so much so that Calder stood between them, worried about what the older man would do.

"What, are you working for Wilcox too?! Maybe that's what this is about! Are the both of you traitors?!" Arthur roared. Annie froze.

"Don't you dare." She told him in a low voice, placing a hand on Calder's arm and pushing him gently to the side so that she could face Arthur head on. "Don't take this out on Calder because he didn't know what I was doing. You have no _idea _what I've given up to take down Henry. No idea what've I've done, what I've sacrificed. So don't you _dare_ accuse me of working for him, Arthur, because you have _no idea_ what it's been like for me!"

"You chose this life Annie! Not me!" Arthur argued back, rage blinding him.

"Chose it!?" Annie shrieked. "You think I chose to get set up for a murder I wasn't anywhere near!? You think I chose to have to hide my identity, to live a lie!? To kill and to torture for information, or to betray the mother of a man I counted as a friend?! What I _chose_, Arthur, was to protect you! Was to against the man who was after you! I could've chosen to walk away from Henry in that diner, I _chose_ to stay! I _chose_ to be a double agent FOR YOU! And for Joan! I chose to keep your secret even when I saw how much it was hurting her, I chose to lie to people I loved to stop Henry going after YOU! I chose to break off communication to protect _you_, because I _knew_ you would never do it. But this _life_, Arthur? I did _not_ choose this."

Her voice had risen higher and higher but now she broke, dropping to almost a whisper before she abruptly turned on her heel and stalked out, wrapping her arms around herself as she stepped out into the cool morning air.

She didn't cry- she couldn't- but she stared sadly into the distance, missing the life she'd led before. She missed her sister and her nieces, her drinks at Allen's Tavern with the other operatives, the travelling, her banter with Auggie. Hell, she even missed working under Joan and being glared at every time something went wrong. Which, she reflected with a sad smile, did seem to happen with alarming frequency.

Damn Henry Wilcox for taking all of that from her.

From inside she could hear the laptop bleeping an alarm, so with a sigh and a deep breath she turned around and walked back inside, her head held high. Arthur was sitting with his head in his hands on the sofa while Calder was frowning at the screen of the laptop. "What's it say?" Annie asked as she approached. Arthur didn't move.

"I have absolutely no idea." Calder looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What language is it in?"

"Oh, I forgot. Hebrew. I figured the chances are Henry doesn't understand it, so just in case he found it I changed it." Annie peered at it, then began to slowly smile.

"Everything ok?" Calder questioned. She nodded.

"The arrest warrant for Henry went out. He can't leave the country."

"Bet that went down well." Calder smirked. She grinned.

"From what I can tell Langley's in uproar." She smirked lopsidedly. Then the laptop dinged again. She looked back down at it in confusion, gasping as she read what was on the screen.

"Walker?" Calder looked at her curiously. She beamed at him silently.

"Annie?!" he demanded.

"It worked." She whispered, then laughed, eyes shining. "They arrested him already. He was inside Langley when the warrant went out. It worked."

"Wilcox?" Arthur spoke, looking up hopefully. She nodded joyfully in confirmation, throwing her arms around Calder before dancing around the room. She leant against the wall, laughing happily.

"So what now?" Calder asked, watching her amusedly. Annie shrugged.

"I'll start the protocols with Teo." She crossed back to the laptop and typed rapidly.

"Arthur? You ok?" Calder asked. Arthur nodded.

"I'll be better once we get back to Joan and Teo." He said shortly. Annie glanced over guiltily as she closed the laptop.

"All done. Now we just wait for them to reply." She explained softly, before vanishing upstairs once again.

Calder raised a pointed eyebrow at Arthur, who sighed. "I was too hard on her, wasn't I?"

"Gee, d'you think?" the younger man said sarcastically. Arthur groaned, throwing himself backwards.

"I need to apologise."

"Well yeah, Arthur. That'd be a start." Calder rolled his eyes, stalking into the kitchen and muttering about living with children. Arthur exhaled heavily, before heaving himself to his feet and following Annie's path upstairs to her door, knocking only once before entering. He gasped at what he saw, physically jerking.

"Annie!"


	8. Chapter 8

**_Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and favourited! This chapter's dedicated to MrMsMingus, Marie King and collabkk who've reviewed pretty much every chapter and always make me smile! Thanks Guys! X_**

Annie lay prone on the floor in the centre of the room. Her legs were twisted awkwardly under her while her arms lay sprawled out, skin deathly pale under the rainbow of bruises that covered her body form head to toe.

Arthur rushed to her side, heart in his throat. He fell to his knees beside the unconscious woman, quickly checking her pulse and sighing in relief when he found one, his anger gone upon seeing the state of the young woman. "CALDER!" he hollered. He quickly scanned for blood, but upon seeing none began to look for a head injury, grimacing when he found more than one.

"I swear to God, if you two need a mediator I'll- Annie!" Calder stepped into the room, face horrified as he came to help them but then paused, embarrassed.

"What the hell is wrong?" Arthur snapped. Calder averted his eyes.

"She's not wearing clothes." He pointed out. Arthur rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"She has underwear, Calder, and she's probably not the first woman you've seen in less. Now come help me!" he snapped. Calder then stepped forward, kneeling next to them.

"Where did all the bruises come from?" he questioned, running his eyes over the different colours that covered the woman's body.

"Various fights and crashes, and probably a lot of other things she neglected to mention." Carefully, Arthur gathered her up in his arms and lay her on the bed where Calder covered her with a warm blanket.

"What do we do? We can't take her to hospital." Calder ran a hand over his head as he stared down at the woman on the bed. Arthur shook his head.

"We'll have to manage. Check her pupils while I go dig out the first aid kit." He ordered. Calder did as he said, sighing in relief at the equal response on both sides. Arthur quickly returned with the red box and used the contained thermometer to check her temperature.

"Normal." He murmured, mind blank as he tried to think of other possible reasons for her collapse. He glanced at Calder, who shrugged.

"Could just be exhausted." He suggested. "I don't think I've actually seen her go to bed yet."

"Or she could have a bleed on the brain." Pointed out Arthur. Calder grimaced.

"Ideas?"

"… None."

They simultaneously sighed, staring at the woman on the bed. "I miss Joan." Arthur groaned.

They took turns in sitting with her and monitoring her condition as the morning slipped into afternoon, and then into night. The moon was high in the sky, shining sliver rays through the window when Annie finally stirred, eyes fluttering open.

"Hey Walker. Welcome back." Arthur greeted, carefully hiding his relief as he sat straighter in his chair.

"Arthur?" she blinked sleepily. "Wha' happened?"

"You collapsed." He explained gently. "Scared the hell out of us."

"Sorry." She murmured, fighting against the urge to close her eyes again.

"Don't worry about it. How do you feel?" he asked. She blinked again.

"Tired. How long was I out?"

"Obviously not long enough. Sleep, Annie." He encouraged now he knew there was nothing seriously wrong with her. She relaxed down again, eyes closing.

"'M sorry I lied." She mumbled before she slept. "Was only protectin' you, Joan an' th' baby."

Arthur watched her for a moment. "I know, Annie. Just sleep. We're fine for now." He promised, covering her hand with his own. She smiled slightly at him, drifting back off just as Calder appeared in the doorway.

"Did I hear voices?" he queried, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Yeah, she woke up for a few seconds. Go back to bed, I'll keep watching her." Arthur said. Calder nodded, disappearing again while Arthur studied the woman in front of him. It was easy to see why Joan and Auggie cared about her so much. He felt tiredness wash over him and slouched in the chair, resting his head against it as he succumbed to the persuasive pull of sleep.

It was the next morning when a bright slash of sunlight woke Arthur up and he panicked a little when he realised that Annie was no longer in the bed in front of him. He swiftly sat up straight, a blanket falling from him. He calmed though as he realised the blanket meant Annie had obviously woken and placed it across him before leaving the room.

He stood, wincing as his aching muscles protested and wandered downstairs, quickly spotting Annie and Calder bent over the laptop. "Morning you two."

"Morning."

"Good morning."

"How are you feeling?" he asked Annie, surveying her carefully. She smiled up at him.

"I'm fine thank you." She assured him. He raised an eyebrow. "I was just over-tired. I haven't slept properly in months. I'm fine- I promise."

He nodded, unconvinced but let it go. He peered over their shoulders at the screen, but it was still all in Hebrew. "Translation?"

"Auggie hacked into the security feeds at Langley- he and Teo are sending me the transcripts." Annie explained. Arthur sat down and quickly ate a bowl of cereal while she quickly read the symbols flashing across her screen. A few minutes later she abruptly paled.

"What's wrong?" asked Calder instantly. Annie hesitated. "Walker!"

"Henry's using the file against us to reduce his own prison time." Annie murmured.

"What?"

"He's still using all the information. He's saying we lied- that Arthur's protecting Teo and we're protecting Arthur and they're accepting his testimony in return for immunity. He's due to give over the file he showed me on Monday morning and then he'll get bail."

"What day is it now?" asked Calder urgently.

"Friday."

There was a painful silence. "All the stuff is true- we can't fight it." Arthur finally said quietly, dropping his head into his hands.

"There has to be something… Teo is your son. That has to mean something!" Calder protested. Arthur shook his head.

"Why the hell do you think I was on house arrest in the first place?" he snapped.

Annie felt sick. This couldn't have all been for nothing. Arthur sat with his head in his hands while Calder stared at the screen as the information kept coming in, although he couldn't understand it. Annie read it all and took it in without really processing it, refusing the food and drink Calder offered her throughout the day and eventually falling asleep on the sofa, with the information still feeding onto her screen.

Saturday and Sunday passed much the same way. Arthur had given up and it was only Annie and Calder that stopped him from turning himself into the authorities.

"Look, just give it a few days." Calder encouraged. "We filed a report on your and Joan's kidnapping- as soon as that reaches a judges desk this'll all end."

"This isn't going to end until Henry is dead, Calder! And he's enjoying this too much to die." Arthur said bitterly. He turned away and went back to staring out across the garden, while Calder had then thrown himself into calling as many people as he could to try to get Henry's deal reversed. But on Sunday night both had gone to bed, although it was doubtful they would be able to sleep. Annie bit her lip contemplatively, staring into space as an idea began to form in her head and reached for the laptop.

The next morning Calder woke suddenly, unsure why. "Michaels, would you keep it down!" Arthur shouted irritably. Calder blinked, before he climbed out of bed.

"It wasn't me- I thought it was you!" he called back. Just then, a harsh knock sounded at the front door. Arthur appeared from his room fully dressed and looking exhausted. Calder frowned. "Maybe Annie went out and forgot her key?"

"She would just pick the lock." Arthur pointed out, starting down the stairs. "Coming!"

He threw the door open, then blinked in shock. "Teo!"

He pulled the younger man into a tight hug which was hesitantly returned before Teo drew away, a worried expression passing over his face. "Hey dad. Is Annie here?"

"Er…" Arthur glanced into the living room and into the kitchen, and frowned when he couldn't see the auburn hair that had become commonplace around the house.

"She's not in her room!" Calder called down the stairs.

"_Mierda_!" Teo swore.

"What's wrong? Where is she?" Arthur demanded. Teo paced up and down.

"I don't know. She sent me a message last night giving me this address and apologising."

"For what?" Arthur asked, confused.

"I don't know! That's the point!" Teo ran his hands through his hair. "When did you last see her?"

The other two both thought back. "Before we went to bed." Calder concluded. Teo sighed.

"When did you last speak to her?" he attempted.

They both thought again. "Oh no…" breathed Calder. Teo looked alarmed.

"What?"

"Arthur said that this would only end with Wilcox dead…" he trailed off, unwilling to say it. Arthur had no such reservations.

"She's going to kill Henry."


	9. Chapter 9

The three stood in stunned silence, dread creeping up on them. "What do we do?" Calder questioned softly. Arthur shook his head.

"If she wanted us to do anything she would have asked." He replied. "She's already made her decision."

"We need to leave." Teo interrupted them, grabbing the items that had been left lying around and chucking them into a bag. "Now. Get your stuff."

They did as instructed and Teo quickly ushered them into his car, tense until they'd been driving for a good while with no trouble. In almost silence, they drove back to his safe house, leaving Calder's car behind them. "Why is it always my car?" he'd complained.

Arthur rolled his eyes, but before he could answer Teo had butted in. "Have you considered that maybe it isn't the car?" he'd enquired. Calder spluttered.

Arthur raised an eyebrow at Teo, who shrugged innocently. "I still don't like him."

Arthur snorted with laughter. "How far are we going anyway?"

"It's a few hours away." Teo answered quietly. Arthur had tried to place the landscape as they drove but beyond the fact that he was pretty sure they were near the east coast still he had no idea where they were or where they were going.

They drew up at the dreary block of flats just before lunchtime and Teo lead them up the numerous flights of stairs to his one. He swiftly let them in, pushing them in quickly before shutting the door firmly behind them. "Nosy neighbours." He explained. Arthur nodded in understanding but didn't have time to reply before a figure appeared from a backroom and threw herself into his arms.

"Arthur!" Joan cried, relief colouring her voice. He wrapped her in a tight hug, burying his face in her hair.

"God… Joan…" he struggled to speak but eventually gave up, instead bringing her into a long kiss before he pulled back to study her properly. Her blonde hair had been dyed darker, so it was closer to a honey brown than her usual colour while the contacts made her eyes a hazel. The one thing Teo couldn't hide was her swollen belly, which Arthur gently placed his hand on, smiling as he felt his son kick at him. Joan smirked at him.

"Nice tan." She quipped. He rolled his eyes, bringing her into him again. He felt her stiffen against him, before she pulled back and cupped his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly. He sighed, mentally cursing her ability to read him so well at the most inconvenient of times and resting his forehead against hers before speaking.

"Please sit, honey." He urged. She frowned.

"Arthur…"

"Please do as he says, Joan." Teo interrupted gently. She glanced at him, but nodded. It was at this point that Arthur saw Auggie leaning against the wall near the doorway Joan had come from.

"Where's Annie?" he asked softly. The other three men exchanged a glance.

"Come sit Anderson." Calder encouraged. He looked like he wanted to argue but did as requested, throwing himself onto the sofa with an ease that made Arthur suspect he'd done it more than once in the last few days. Once he'd sat next to Joan the three men explained between them- very disjointedly- what they suspected about Annie.

"Dammit! You were supposed to look after her!" Auggie yelled, surging to his feet angrily once they'd finished their explanation.

"Auggie…" Joan said pleadingly, placing her hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him. But he shrugged her off and stalked into the bedroom at the back of the flat, fury radiating off him as he slammed the door.

There was a moment's silence. "Damn." Breathed Calder. Joan sighed.

"Alright. So we're assuming Annie has gone back to DC?" She pinched the bridge of her nose, the other hand rubbing soothing circles over her stomach as she tried to sort her own thoughts out.

"Yeah. Henry is due to give evidence in about two hours." Teo checked his watch, grinding his jaw together.

"We'd never get there in time, even if we knew where to find her." Joan swept her hair back off her face as worry lined her eyes, her other hand reaching for Arthur's.

Calder stood and began to pace, frowning as ideas ran through his head. "She'll have to get him going in." he reasoned. "There's no other chance."

"You know, we're assuming Annie _is _going to kill him." Arthur spoke up. "But she might not be. For all we know she's simply going to destroy the file."

"Henry will have copies. Annie knows that." Calder contradicted.

"But not ones that he can produce today in court." Reasoned Arthur.

"But it _would_ be enough for now."

"Look, it's not like we can do anything about it." Joan interrupted, hoping to stop their argument before it got too heated.

"There's something else too…" Arthur started hesitantly. Joan raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked suspiciously. Calder glanced at him with raised eyebrows.

"Annie collapsed Thursday morning." Arthur confessed.

"WHAT!?" Joan and Teo exclaimed. Arthur and Calder both winced.

"I found her lying unconscious on the floor in her room." The former explained, ready to duck when he saw his wife's face. "She didn't wake up until Thursday night and even then she fell asleep again until Friday morning."

"What was wrong with her?" Joan demanded, face tired and anxious. Calder shrugged.

"She said she was just over exhausted, but…" he trailed off.

"We do not tell Auggie about this." Joan said in a low voice. The three men raised their eyebrows in an unanimous silent question. "He will freak out even more if he suspects Annie is sick. We don't tell him and when she gets back here we send her to a doctor. I'll drag her there myself if I have to. Any arguments?"

There was a silence, and she smiled. "Good. Now turn on the news Teo- I think Henry's trial is being covered."

Teo did as she said, flicking through the few channels until he found one showing the news.

"_Here at the supreme courts in Washington DC, tensions are high as the crowds wait for the arrival of Henry Wilcox. A former CIA operative, Wilcox is standing accused of treason and of plotting against the United States of America. It was today revealed that he was previously incarcerated at a top secret facility for a period of several months after his own son- the recently deceased Jai Wilcox, also a CIA operative- accused him of leaking highly classified information to the news reporter Liza Hearn during the numerous scandals that hit the CIA four years ago."_

"Well, it's nice to know the high court writ is working." Arthur said dryly.

Annie's heart thumped in her throat as she crawled onto the roof, blinking in the midday sun. She was dragging her weighty bag behind her, dressed in dark jeans and a black jumper covered in her customary black jacket to allow her to blend into the crowds later. She kept low, peeking over the edge to see the jeering crowds lining the street despite the cold, a cacophony of shouts and whistles that both supported and condemned the soon to arrive man. Henry Wilcox was big news.

Quickly but methodically Annie assembled her rifle, adjusting the sight slightly before lowering herself onto her stomach. As uncomfortable as the cold weather was- especially in the form of freezing concrete she had to lay on- she was grateful for the lack of wind and rain. It made her job so much easier. She released a long breath, lowering her head to the scope and adjusting it to where Henry would step out from his armoured prison van, glancing at her watch and seeing that she had only minutes left until he was due to arrive. So she waited.

Joan knocked on the door of the bedroom before peeking in, her heart breaking when she saw Auggie sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. "Auggie." She said softly, coming in and lowering herself next to him.

"I need her Joan." He whispered. "I don't know how it happened, but I need her."

"I know you do." She placed her hand on his shoulder, watching the little of his face that she could see sadly. "She loves you Auggie. And I believe in the both of you. The things you've been through already- they've only made you stronger and this will too. I'm sure of it."

"Really?" he asked, voice rough. He raised his head and turned it in her direction, and she was shocked to see tears in her eyes. She felt incredibly privileged that he trusted her enough to show her the side of him she was sure that not many people had ever been allowed to see.

"Really." She assured him.

"I don't understand." he mumbled. She tilted her head in confusion. "She was just this green operative who became a friend, and then somehow she became my best friend. And then… she was even more. And I can't even tell you when that was, because I honestly have no idea."

Joan chuckled slightly. "The two of you certainly didn't make it easy for yourselves." She smiled softly. He smiled too, albeit sadly.

"We really didn't."

"Auggie- listen to me. She's going to be ok. Even if she does kill Henry, I don't think she'll be punished too harshly. Hell, knowing the CIA she'll probably even get a medal and a choice of assignments." Joan gripped his hand, hoping her words would get through to him.

"But what if she doesn't? What if she's caught and sent to jail?" he looked at her desolately. "Annie Walker died all those months ago, Joan! Jessica Mathews will be dumped in a cell and left to rot! I'll lose her Joan, I'll-" he broke off, shaking and holding back sobs. Joan blinked back her own tears and wrapped him in a hug.

"Then we will fight for her. We'll take it public, get the press involved, cause such a ruckus that they'll have no choice but to release her." Joan assured him, no hint of a joke in her voice. Auggie choked out a laugh, resting his head on her shoulder. She smirked down at him, mischief dancing in her eyes. "And even if that fails then we'll get Teo to break her out and we'll send the three of you to live in some country no one's ever heard of to have lots of cute babies and drive each other mad."

Auggie genuinely laughed this time. "What about you and Arthur? You'd have to bring your little one out and he can act as a little leader to the rest of the gang."

"The problem is between my genes and Arthur's that probably would be the reality." Joan grinned with amusement. Auggie chuckled, sitting up and reaching for her hand to squeeze.

"Thanks Joan."

She smiled. "Anytime."

They both jolted as Teo's voice rang out. "JOAN! AUGGIE!" Joan frowned, looking up before catching Auggie's hand and leading him out to the living room.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she caught sight of their pale faces. Calder pointed to the TV.

"She actually did it." He whispered. Joan looked at the TV in confusion, eyes widening at what she saw.

Henry Wilcox lay on the pavement, a single bullet hole between his glazed eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

**_I'm so sorry guys! 3 weeks before our actual exams and all my teachers decided to give us mocks :-( Tell me what you think! X_**

They stared at the TV in shocked silence, watching as agents and police swarmed around and the crowds rapidly dispersed, screaming and running as they tried to escape the crowded streets. "Oh my god…" whispered Joan. She stared at the TV, reaching for Auggie's hand before he freaked out.

"What the hell do we do now?" Calder cursed. Nobody answered for a long minute.

"We have to help her." Auggie said flatly.

"How?" asked Teo.

"We protect her." Joan said simply. "Annie is damn good at what she does so we assume she got out clean. We head back to DC- put out messages so she knows she has places to go."

"And if she doesn't see them?" Calder questioned.

"We'll think positive." Joan grabbed a pile of jackets from the back of a chair and chucked them at the relevant person.

"I'll get our bags." Teo levered himself up and went into the bedroom. Joan bit her lip, rubbing Auggie's arm before crossing to Arthur. He shot her an enquiring look but obediently followed her outside into the hall.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She looked terrified.

"I need to go the hospital."

"Why?"

"The baby isn't moving as much, Arthur. I think something's wrong." She whispered urgently, casting a glance at the half closed door. Arthur swallowed.

"Shit." He hissed. He glanced at her, saw the fear in her eyes. "Hey, he'll be ok. Where's the closest hospital?"

"I already looked online. It doesn't have an OB/GYN department. The closest one that does is in our original one in DC." She answered in a low tone, sinking into the hug he offered.

"Ok. We'll get them to drop us off while they go help Annie."

"You can't Arthur! You're still a fugitive!" Joan replied, voice rising slightly. There was a silence from inside the flat, before Calder poked his head around the door.

"Everything ok?" he checked. Joan nodded with a weak smile.

"Yes thank you." Calder looked unconvinced but withdrew anyway. Joan turned back to her husband.

"I won't let you walk in there alone." Arthur drew her closer, brow furrowed with worry. Joan cupped his face.

"I'll take Auggie or Teo with me. Nobody's looking for either of them." She rested her forehead on his, clasping her left hand with his right and resting their other ones her bump. "He's a fighter. Maybe we should call him Kaden."

"Kaden?"

"It means little warrior." Joan explained.

"Ah." Arthur looked away.

"You don't like it?"

"Not really. Sorry." He looked sheepish, and Joan rolled her eyes.

"Back to the drawing board then." She smiled dimly. He brushed a lock of hair from her face, stiffening as he heard a noise from behind them. He turned, hearing Joan groan as he did so. "Nosy neighbour." She whispered softly in explanation.

An old woman shuffled out of the flat behind them, feigning surprise when she saw them. "Hello dears." She greeted. Behind her, a tiny Chihuahua trotted out.

"Hi Mrs Rose." Joan sighed. Arthur brushed her hand with his.

"Who's this?" the woman enquired, tugging the dog behind her. Joan smirked.

"This is my husband." She replied. The old woman's eyes widened.

"But I thought…" she began, then trailed off as her gaze flicked behind them. Joan squeezed Arthur's twice in quick succession as she turned around. Teo stood behind her, a smirk on his face.

"Hi honey. Hi _dad_." He emphasised the last word, stepping closer to Joan and resting his hand on her back. Arthur kept his face impassive while confusion swirled inside him. The woman gasped in outrage.

"_Sinners_!" she hissed, before stalking past them with her nose in the air. Teo and Joan burst into giggles while Arthur simply raised his eyebrows.

"Serves her right, old hag." Joan muttered. Arthur shot her a look, and she explained. "When we first moved in she made… comments."

"About?"

"Teo's race, Auggie being blind. She cornered me, told me that if I needed help to leave she'd be happy to help. So I told her Teo was my boyfriend and Auggie was his brother. "

Arthur snorted in laughter. "And you just told her I was your husband and he's my son."

"Exactly." She smirked, turning to Teo. "Did you need something?" she asked him with a warm smile.

"Just checking you're ready to go." he passed her bag over, which Arthur quickly took.

"Yeah, we both are." Joan confirmed. Teo nodded.

"Alright. Meet you in the car?" he threw the keys to them, quickly joining them in the car once they were in. Joan smirked back at the three in the back- Calder was driving, which left an unhappy Auggie squashed between Arthur and Teo as she was in the passenger seat. The ride passed in a mostly tense silence, broken only by occasional comments as Auggie listened to the police chatter on his laptop. Joan didn't think she wanted to know how he got access to that. At some point she drifted off, waking only when they drew up to the outskirts of DC.

"To your house?" Calder asked. Joan bit her lip.

"Via the hospital. There's a spare key hidden under the roses at the front." She answered quietly. Calder shot her a panicked look.

"Are you ok?"

"I don't know. Teo, would you mind coming in with me?" she asked. He looked startled.

"Um… are you sure?" he glanced at his father. Joan nodded.

"Arthur's still a fugitive." She pointed out. "Please?"

Teo nodded hesitantly. She smiled brightly at him, ignoring Arthur's confused look. When they arrived, he quickly climbed out the car and helped her out, standing for a moment with her in his arms. "Since when did you and Teo become so friendly that you'd ask him instead of Auggie?"

"Auggie would be no help whatsoever because he's too worried about Annie. And I was trapped in a flat for days with Teo, Arthur, I'd be more concerned if we hadn't become friendly." she pointed out gently. He still had a frown on his face, and she kissed it away. "I love you. I'll call you when I know something." She promised, before making her way inside the hospital with Teo. He looked at her sideways. "What?"

"Just wondering why you'd choose me."

"Is it really so shocking?" she asked as they entered a lift.

"Well… yes." He admitted, pulling a paper bag from his pocket. "Here."

Joan frowned, peeking inside. "Fake ID?"

"I figured you probably can't be Joan Campbell looking as you do." He shrugged. She kissed his cheek.

"Thank you Teo." She pulled them out, studying them. "Annabelle Williams. Could be worse."

Teo rolled his eyes, tugging her from the lift. "Come on. I'm very uncomfortable right now." He eyed a heavily pregnant woman as they passed. Joan chuckled slightly, heading for the front desk while Teo stood awkwardly, unsure of where to look.

Less than ten minutes later she was situated in a room with a monitor strapped on and a pale Teo to one side. "Are you ok?" she asked, amused. He nodded noiselessly.

"I think I'm scarred. Women really have to go through that more than once?"

Joan laughed. "I told you to leave. And yes, we do."

"I think I'm scarred." He repeated. A few hours later, they both looked up as a midwife came in.

"Good afternoon Ms Williams." She greeted. Both Joan and Teo murmured replies. "So we've been monitoring baby's movements- did you notice they picked up when you rolled over?"

Joan thought for a moment. "Yes… a little." She realised. The midwife smiled.

"Baby was just lying on the cord. Nothing to worry about." Joan sighed in relief, sagging against the pillows.

"Thank you so much." she said gratefully. The woman left the room, leaving Joan to get dressed and hail a cab with Teo breathing a sigh of relief beside her.

"Thank you for coming Teo. I know how uncomfortable you were." She looped her hand through his arm, smiling sweetly at him. He shrugged.

"No problem." He waved it off as the taxi drew up. They hurried into the house once they'd arrived, casting nervous looks at the neighbours' houses as they did so.

"Arthur? Calder? Auggie?" Joan called, throwing her coat and bag over the hooks. Teo looked uncomfortable. Joan rolled her eyes, catching his hand and tugging him inside. "This is your home too, now. Don't look so scared of it."

Arthur appeared from the kitchen, quickly taking Joan into his arms. Teo made a face as they murmured to each other and went to find Calder.

He wandered through the house, a little overwhelmed. He'd grown up in the slums, he and his grandparents barely scraping by and a tiny part of him was jealous of the difference between that and the life his little brother would have.

"Hey Teo." Greeted Calder as he discovered the two other men in the garden. Teo nodded to him.

"What did I miss?" he asked.

"We left coded messages for Annie all over the city." Calder filled him in. "She should be here soon."

"And until she is you all need to eat and sleep." Joan appeared in the doorway, frowning as the cold air hit her. "Preferably in the warm."

"Go inside Joan- you'll get sick." Teo scolded. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes sir. All of you in, now." She ordered, entering the kitchen just as Arthur pulled a tray from the oven. "That smells good. Is it safe to eat too?" she smirked.

"Haha. I should hope so- you cooked it. Lasagne from the freezer." Arthur placed it on the table alongside a bowl of salad. Joan smiled.

"Thanks honey." She quickly grabbed a pile of plates and a handful of cutlery, placing them on the table as the three men entered.

"Smells good Joan." Teo complimented.

"Thank you." She ushered them to their seats as she dug glasses from the back of a cupboard. Arthur looked indignant.

"Hey!" he protested. Teo chuckled.

"I think we both know you can't cook. Therefore, Joan must have." He pointed out dryly, intercepting Joan before she could reach to high. "Let me. Go and sit down."

She smiled gratefully, allowing him to take over while she lowered herself into a chair. Two minutes later, drinks had been dispensed and Arthur had pulled the garlic bread from the oven, finally sitting down with the rest of them. The men immediately dug in with Arthur automatically helping Auggie but Joan picked at her food, a sad frown on her face.

Arthur glanced at her. "What's wrong?"

She shrugged, putting down her cutlery and leaning back while her hand ghosted over her stomach. "It just feels wrong to sit down and eat when Annie isn't here."

"Good thing I'm here then isn't it?" they all looked up at the voice from the doorway.

"Annie!" relief coursed through Joan as she quickly stood and drew the younger woman into her arms, drawing back to study her worriedly. She was pale and had deep bags under her eyes, her clothes were crumpled and dirty and Joan was pretty sure that the dark stain on her jeans was blood.

But she was alive, and she was safe.

"Hey Joan." Annie grinned sheepishly. Joan sighed, shaking her head slightly even as a smile tugged at her lips.

"I swear, I'm going to lock you in a room somewhere. Maybe that'll stop you getting into trouble."

Annie laughed slightly. "Doubtful."

Joan stepped to the side, realising for the first time that Annie wasn't alone. "Eyal." She raised her eyebrows in surprise, glancing at Annie in confusion. The brunette was currently being spun in the air by Teo though, so Joan turned back to the Israeli for answers.

"It's a long story." He shrugged. Joan sighed in frustration, saw Calder and Teo looking between them in confusion. But Joan's attention was diverted to Annie and Auggie, who had just come face to face.

"Don't hit me." Auggie pleaded. Bewilderment crossed Annie's face.

"Why would I- _mmph!_" She was cut off as Auggie kissed her firmly, one hand cupping her face while the other wrapped around her waist. She flailed for a second but then kissed him back, her own hands winding around his neck and drawing him closer.

Teo coughed, ducking his head while Calder rolled his eyes to the ceiling and Eyal turned away with wide eyes. "Didn't see that coming." He muttered. Joan beamed at the pair, although she was slightly concerned what would happen when Annie's brain connected to the rest of her.

Calder coughed pointedly but that didn't break the pair apart. "Guys." Teo complained, resorting to throwing a ball of paper at them.

Annie flushed in embarrassment while Auggie seemed mostly unaffected. "Ah… Eyal, that's Calder Michaels and Teo Braga. Teo, Calder meet Eyal Levine of Mossad." She introduced, cheeks a furious red. Joan laughed at her.

"Alright, let's eat and you can tell us what happened. Arthur honey, grab some plates for them." She instructed, taking pity on the mortified girl. They all sat, tucking in until Calder bought up the subject they were all avoiding.

"What the hell happened Walker?"


	11. Chapter 11

Annie sighed, placing her knife and fork on the side of her plate and taking a sip of water. "I sent the message with our location to Teo then waited until Arthur and Calder were both asleep to leave. One of my safe houses' in DC had a store of various weapons, so I went there and grabbed my rifle before going to the courthouse. " she explained.

_Annie's heart thumped in her throat as she crawled onto the roof, blinking in the midday sun. She was dragging her weighty bag behind her, dressed in dark jeans and a black jumper covered in her customary black jacket to allow her to blend into the crowds later. She kept low, peeking over the edge to see the jeering crowds lining the street despite the cold, a cacophony of shouts and whistles that both supported and condemned the soon to arrive man. Henry Wilcox was big news. _

_Quickly but methodically Annie assembled her rifle, adjusting the sight slightly before lowering herself onto her stomach. As uncomfortable as the cold weather was- especially in the form of freezing concrete she had to lay on- she was grateful for the lack of wind and rain. It made her job so much easier. She released a long breath, lowering her head to the scope and adjusting it to where Henry would step out from his armoured prison van, glancing at her watch and seeing that she had only minutes left until he was due to arrive. So she waited._

_Ten minutes after Henry was due to arrive, however, she was bored. Patience had never really been her strong suit and she was freezing cold, seriously wishing she'd remembered to bring a pair of gloves. But even as she thought it the noise of the crowd picked up and the sound of engines rumbled through the air. Annie watched as the prison van crawled into the end of the street._

_She sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. Pressing her eye to the scope and she eased her finger over the taut trigger, gradually relaxing all her muscles and focusing on the visual she could see through the scope. The truck came closer._

_"Neshema." _

_Annie gasped and jerked, rapidly spinning onto her back and bringing a knife up against the man standing next to her. She scowled at Eyal. "What the hell are you doing here?" She hissed. He shrugged._

_"So hostile?" He questioned. Annie groaned, rolling over again and getting back in position._

_"Go away, Eyal. I'm busy." She adjusted her aim again, watching as the van drove down the street, only slightly hampered by the swelling crowds._

_"Busy attempting to kill Henry Wilcox?" he asked, dropping down beside her. Her jaw tightened._

_"You of all people have no right to judge. I have to do this Eyal." She shifted, swallowing thickly._

_"But this isn't sanctioned! If you're caught you will go to jail!" Eyal tugged her shoulder, pulling her away from the gun. _

_"What the hell are you, my Jiminy Cricket?" Annie snapped, glaring at him. Down on the street, the van came to a halt. "You can't stop me from doing this Eyal!"_

_"I'm not trying to stop you! I'm offering to do it instead!"_

_Annie looked at him blankly. "What?"_

_"You aren't sanctioned, but I am." Eyal told her urgently, glancing at the street and holding up his own dismantled rifle. Annie hesitated._

_"Neshema, please! I have orders and an extraction plan, you don't! Once you do this you cannot go back! Take it from someone who knows. Let me do it Annie!" _

_Annie finally nodded, rolling over and handing the rifle to him before she could change her mind. He threw himself down and quickly took aim, hesitating only a second before he pulled the trigger._

_Annie had her fingers in her ears but still winced at deafening shot that echoed. She peeked over the edge of the roof, saw Henry lying on the floor and the crowd running in all directions. Eyal grabbed her hand, yanking her upright. "We have to go."_

_She nodded, trembling slightly but didn't move, simply staring at him. "Annie! We need to go!" Eyal shook her slightly._

_"__Right. Sorry." She blinked as she returned to the present, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder as they ran hand in hand through the building. He went to turn left as they emerged into the daylight but she stopped him._

_"__This way!" she tugged at him, leading him down a darkened alley._

_"__Do you know where we're going?" Eyal panted. She nodded, letting go of his hand to scale a fence. He was right behind her as they sprinted through the streets via similar alleys and cut through's before they finally emerged beside the Potomac. He'd quickly lost all sense of direction, simply trusting that Annie knew where she was leading them. She finally slowed, slipping her hand through his arm._

_"__Now we act normally." She whispered breathlessly, gulping in air. They walked casually alongside the river and every so often Annie would drop a part of her dismantled gun into it. Eyal felt a prickling on the back of his neck and slowed, frowning. "What's wrong?"_

_"__We're being watched." He murmured in reply, casting a glance around as he lifted his collar to cover some of his face. Annie slid her hood up, pretending to stop to tie her shoelace in order to look behind them. It didn't take much to spot the police officer trying to discretely watch them._

_"__Time to go." She murmured, standing abruptly and catching his arm. They walked quickly away, darting down another nearby alley._

_"__Always interesting with you, Neshema." Eyal joked. Annie shot him a grin._

_"__You'd be bored without me, Eyal."_

_"__But somewhat safer."_

_They continued to run, until Annie suddenly stopped dead, causing Eyal to crash into her. "Hey!" he began, but noticed her gaze fixed on something across the street._

_"__What is it?" he questioned, leaning on his knees as he tried to get his breath back. As far as he could see, the only mildly interesting thing was a graffitied wall._

_"__That tag." Annie replied with a frown. Eyal glanced over._

_"__There are a lot of tags. Which one in particular?"_

_"__That one." She pointed. Bright red letters, Eyal couldn't make sense of what it said. _

_"__What does it mean?" he asked, resigned to the fact she wasn't going to let it drop. _

_"__It says A.C.W, ARJO." She answered, smiling brightly. He blinked, nonplussed._

_"__Neshema…" he started in exasperation, casting a glance around them. But she grabbed his hand again and began to run before he could finish. "Where are we going?"_

_"__Somewhere safe!" she called over her shoulder, sprinting faster as they approached a wire fence and leaping, pushing herself over the top of it._

_They continued to run through the darkening streets, dodging crowds as best they could and sticking to shadows. Annie pulled Eyal away from the streetlights as they reached the residential street Joan and Arthur lived in. "I recognise this. We're going to the Campbells?" Eyal realised. Annie nodded. _

_"__C'mon." she grabbed his hand and ran towards the house._

"Wow…" Calder blinked at the end of their story. They'd relocated to the living room about half way through and now sat around as Annie and Eyal finished their tale.

"Annie… we thought…" Auggie started, tone apologetic but she gently interrupted him.

"It's ok. Another thirty seconds and you would have been right."

Joan glanced between them, saw the uncomfortable expression on her face and set about ushering them all into bed. "Have you got a way home, Eyal?" She asked. He nodded in understanding.

"I should probably go actually…" he glanced at his watch, climbing to his feet. The others all stood too, Teo and Calder shaking his hand and retreating into the kitchen. Eyal drew Auggie into a hug.

"It was good to see you again, my friend." He said warmly.

"You too. Metaphorically speaking." Auggie grinned, slapping him on the back.

"I've never understood why men do that." Annie murmured to Joan, who shrugged.

"Neither have I. I think it's a testosterone thing."

Eyal leant closer to Auggie so the women and Arthur couldn't hear him. "If you hurt her, I will come after you." He threatened. Auggie gave a nod.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He left them, and Annie stepped forward to hug Eyal.

"Thank you for everything." She embraced him tightly, hoping this wasn't the last time she saw him.

"Anytime, _neshema_." He smiled warmly. "By the way… I'm loving the hair."

He winked, and she rolled her eyes with an affectionate grin. "Goodbye Eyal."

From the kitchen Teo called her, and she darted out with a wave and a smile, leaving Joan and Arthur to see the Israeli out. Joan hugged him briefly. "Thank you for looking after her." she nodded in the direction Annie had gone with a wry smile. Eyal inclined his head.

"It is always a pleasure. But there is something she left out of the story." He lowered his voice.

_"__Where are we going?" _

_"__Somewhere safe!" she called over her shoulder, sprinting faster as they approached a wire fence and leaping, pushing herself over the top of it. But she misjudged her landing and fell, rolling with a small cry of pain._

_"__Annie?!"_

_She sat up with a wince, scowling at her leg. "Ow." Eyal could see the blood beginning to well up through the dark material of her jeans. _

_"__How bad?" he probed the area softly, but she hissed and flinched away._

_"__I'm fine. Let's go." She winced as she got to her feet, limping heavily._

_"__Annie…" Eyal began, but she scowled at him angrily. _

_"__I said I'm fine!" He blinked in surprise at her tone, stepping back until he saw her sway heavily. He darted forward without thinking to steady her._

_"__Annie, are you ok?" he questioned, but she seemed unable to answer as her legs buckled beneath her. Eyal held her upright, watching her concernedly. "This isn't just from a cut…" he pressed doubtfully.__Annie's eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply, clutching at Eyal until she was able to stand straight._

_"__I'm fine." She said firmly, pushing him away and beginning to walk away with only a slight limp until she got into her stride and carried on running. But Eyal watched her worriedly, sure that she wasn't as fine as she said she was._

"Aw crap." Sighed Arthur.

"Thanks Eyal." Joan said sincerely. He left, and Joan closed the door behind him before sighing as she turned to Arthur. "What are we going to do?"

He exhaled heavily, leaning against the wall. "Patch her up for now, keep an eye on her until we can get her to a doctor without us all being arrested." He shrugged. Joan nodded.

"You tell the others while I patch her up?"

He nodded, kissing her as she went past to fetch Annie and order her upstairs. "I'm fine Joan." The auburn-haired woman protested.

"You're bleeding." Joan pointed out flatly, hiding her amusement at Annie's reluctance. The younger woman looked around for help.

"Arthur!" she called. "I'll tell you how to get the fake tan off if you help me!"

"Sorry Walker. Teo already told me." he grinned with a shake of his head. Annie groaned, trailing after Joan up the stairs.

"Am I really that bad?" the blonde asked amusedly. Annie pretended to consider.

"I suppose not…" she yelped as Joan hit her on the arm, rolling her eyes.

"Go shower. There are towels in there and I'll dig out some clothes." She ordered. Annie mock saluted and vanished into the bathroom while Joan began to dig through the cupboards.

Ten minutes later, Annie peeked out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel. "Er… Joan? I don't have anything to wear…" she ventured, blushing. Joan waved her in.

"Let me look at that cut on your leg first." She instructed. Annie stepped out hesitantly, sitting next to Joan and pulling up the towel just enough that Joan could see the five inch gash. The blonde sucked in a breath as it became visible.

"Jesus Annie." She muttered, grabbing the Savlon spray from beside her and spraying it on the wound.

Annie flinched away, yelping. "Ow! Joan!" she protested.

"Sorry." Joan shrugged. "You need stitches. You want alcohol?"

Annie shook her head. "Just do it." She bit her lip and looked away as Joan began, wincing as she felt the needle pierce her skin.

"So you and Auggie?" Joan grinned, hoping to distract her. Annie blushed a furious red.

"I… er…" she stuttered. Joan laughed at her, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Not this again." She groaned. Annie nibbled her lip.

"I wasn't expecting earlier." She admitted.

"Yeah, we got that." Joan said dryly, amusement flashing through her. Annie flushed, ducking her head.

Joan glanced at her. "Are you ok, Annie?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Just checking. You've been through a lot the last few months." Joan said evasively. Annie smiled tightly.

"I'm fine Joan. Really." She assured her. Joan shook her head slightly in disbelief, finishing the stitch she was working on and placing a dressing over it. "Ok, all done."

"Thank you Joan." Annie said sincerely, meaning for more than just the stitches. Joan smiled in understanding, squeezing her hand gently before passing her the clothes and making her way downstairs to Arthur.

"So?" he looked up as she entered, shaking her head.

"Says she's fine." Joan sighed, taking the seat next to him and looking at Auggie sympathetically. "Your turn, Auggie."

He gulped. "Me? Why me? She'll kill me!"

"Because the rest of us have already tried." Teo answered, slapping his shoulder. Auggie's eyes were wide.

"Aw man." He complained, slouching dramatically.

"What's wrong with you?" Annie entered, smiling at him. Auggie blinked nervously, while Teo and Calder started to side shuffle out the door.

"Annie, we need to talk."

**_Thank you for all the reviews and alerts! X_**


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